The present invention relates to data entry and reporting systems and more specifically, to a method of employing machine-readable dataforms to automate transmission of transaction data from vendor point of sale transaction registers to purchaser data processing devices such as computers.
Computer based storage, analysis and reporting of transaction data offers powerful analytical tools with applications in both personal and business contexts. A key challenge to full exploitation of these analytical and reporting tools is accurate and timely entry of transaction data and associated categories into user data processing devices such as computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), hand-held PCs, or even cellular telephones.
In a retail transaction at the point of sale, transaction data, including the currency value of the transaction, the time and date of the transaction, and the items or services transacted, are typically entered by a vendor into a cash register or other transaction processing device (hereinafter xe2x80x9ccash registerxe2x80x9d), either manually or by use of an automated data entry device. The cash register creates a record of the sale for the vendor""s accounting system.
The cash register also prints the previously entered transaction data combined with vendor configurable information such as the name, address and telephone number of the vendor onto a tangible (e.g., paper) register receipt. This receipt is then provided to the purchaser as a record of the transaction. For various reasons including, inter alia, tax reporting or expense reimbursement claims purposes, purchasers will often add their own handwritten notations regarding the circumstances of the transaction to the receipts after receiving the receipt from the vendor.
Typically, in order to enter this information into their own computer, the purchaser must duplicate the vendor""s original data entry efforts. This entry process requires re-entry of the transaction data and is commonly accomplished by means of manual entry of the transaction data, including any handwritten notations on the receipts, using a keyboard attached to the purchaser""s computer.
This method presents several obvious problems. The data entry is itself time consuming and labor intensive. Data entry errors can occur either while the purchaser is reading the transaction data from the receipts or while the transaction data is subsequently being entered using the keyboard. The time, effort and monotony associated with hand keying receipt information into the purchaser""s computer means that purchasers often will delay or simply fail to enter the receipts. Among other problems, this can result in loss of the receipts and/or incomplete purchaser transaction records.
Dataform Technology
So-called xe2x80x9cbarcodesxe2x80x9d are well known in the data encoding arts. Linear barcodes (also known as one-dimensional barcodes), stacked barcodes (also known as one-dimensional stacked or two-dimensional stacked barcodes), matrix barcodes (also known as two-dimensional matrix barcodes) and any other arrangement whereby data is fixed in some form of machine readable copy (collectively xe2x80x9cdataformsxe2x80x9d), are machine readable graphical patterns of encoded data within a matrix which typically incorporate graphical finder, orientation and reference structures. Dataforms are often printed on paper or other suitable substrates. They are functionally non-volatile xe2x80x9cwrite once read manyxe2x80x9d storage for recording and transmission of data. They typically take the form of dark colored elements printed on a substrate, the latter providing a light colored background. The specific pattern of dark and light areas communicates encoded data and varies depending on the specific encoding symbology used. These patterns can be subsequently read by use of an electro-optical scanning device or other suitable devices which are capable of distinguishing between different reflective values of light reflected from the dark and light elements of the dataform. The variations in reflected light are photoelectrically converted into electrical signals which are in turn amplified and digitized. The digitized information representing the encoded pattern is then processed to reveal the dataform pattern. The dataform pattern is then decoded by use of an algorithm, such decoding allowing extraction of the encoded data.
Data storage capacities among dataforms vary based on a number of factors including encoding symbology and size of the dataform. For example, as compared with stacked and matrix barcodes, linear barcodes, have a limited capacity to store information. In contrast, stacked and matrix barcodes offer greatly expanded data storage capacity. Where linear barcodes generally contain a string of numbers functioning as a record locator referencing an external database, stacked and matrix barcodes can themselves function as self-contained databases. Examples of dataform encoding symbologies are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,304,786 (Pavlidis, et al.); 5,591,956 (Longacre, et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,552 (Little, et al). Other dataform encoding symbologies include the United Parcel Service""s MaxiCode 2D matrix barcode, Ted William""s Code One matrix barcode, and International DataMatrix, Inc.""s DataMatrix 2D matrix barcode.
As compared with read-only memory based on electronic storage mediums, dataforms, being encoded patterns printed onto paper or other suitable substrates, provide other advantages. They commonly incorporate error correction protocols, thereby allowing damaged or partial images to communicate the required data. They are also comparatively cheap to produce, have no power requirements for maintaining the integrity of their encoded data, are very convenient to transport and store and as compared with electro-mechanical based storage methods, are very durable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,512 entitled xe2x80x9cDigital Delivery of Receiptsxe2x80x9d issued Apr. 14, 1998 and assigned to Sun Microsystems, Inc., (hereinafter xe2x80x9cthe ""512 patentxe2x80x9d) discloses a method and apparatus for transmitting electronic receipts via a variety of mechanisms including e-mail and xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d cards. However, while affording advantages in terms of ease and speed of routing of information to its desired destination, the invention disclosed in the ""512 patent disadvantageously does not allow the user to make annotations upon the receipt generated by the vendor. Additionally, no facility for automatically identifying and storing encoded transaction information based on classification codes provided by the vendor or the purchaser is disclosed. Furthermore, no method for transmitting the transaction data via means other than smart cards or the Internet is disclosed. In particular, no method for transmitting transaction data to Personal Digital Assistants (PDAS) is disclosed. Additionally, no facility for allowing the user to characterize or annotate stored transaction information at the time of transaction is disclosed.
Based on the foregoing, what is needed is an improved method and apparatus for communicating information relating to transactions, including user-customized or annotated data, from the point of occurrence of the transaction (e.g., the point of sale) to a data processing device accessible by the user via one or more communications links. Such improved method and apparatus would ideally allow the transmission of a variety of different types of information, including transaction details and transaction classification codes, directly or indirectly to one or more data processing devices, thereby obviating the need for manual entry of the information by the purchaser. Furthermore, such method and apparatus would ideally not require both the vendor and the purchaser to be connected to the communications link(s) at the same time, and would be compatible with a variety of different hardware and software environments. Such method and apparatus would also robust from a data error perspective, and would be cost effective to implement.
The present invention addresses the foregoing needs by providing an improved method and apparatus communicating transaction-related information of various types across a communications link to one or more data processing devices.
In a first aspect of the invention, a system which encodes transaction data in the form of a dataform printed directly onto receipts provided to purchasers is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the system comprises a data processing device with data storage capability operatively connected to a cash register or other device capable of providing transaction data; a computer program running on the data processing device and adapted to encode the transaction data at the point of sale into a dataform pattern; and a printing device capable of printing the dataform pattern onto a receipt. The dataform pattern comprises an encoded dataform containing a plurality of transaction-related data, and the receipt comprises a paper receipt or other tangible substrate capable of fixedly receiving the dataform thereon. The encoded data may then be read and decoded by the purchaser at a later time and/or remote location. In a second embodiment, the system includes a data interface to a portable device, such as a wireless radio frequency (RF) interface or data cable, and the encoded transaction data is transmitted via the interface to the portable device for storage and later retrieval therein. In a third embodiment, the encoded data is transmitted via one or more communications links to a remote server where it is stored in a database, which the vendor and/or purchaser may subsequently access in order to retrieve and utilize the transaction data.
In a second aspect of the invention, a system for encoding transaction data in the form of a dataform on a receipt, and subsequently decoding and storing the encoded data in a remote database is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the system comprises a data processing device operatively connected to a cash register or other device capable of providing transaction data; a computer program running on the data processing device and adapted to encode the transaction data at the point of sale into a dataform pattern; a printing device capable of printing the dataform pattern onto a receipt; a scanning device capable of reading the aforementioned dataform pattern from the receipt; and a decoding device operatively coupled to the scanning device adapted to derive the encoded and categorized transaction data from the read dataform. A data processing device capable of mapping the decoded transaction data to a computer database is also used in conjunction with the system. In a second embodiment, the system includes optical character recognition (OCR) or comparable software operatively coupled to the decoding device for recognizing and decoding annotations (such as handwritten notes or symbols) made directly on the tangible receipt. The decoded annotations are then stored within the aforementioned database according to predetermined relationships specified, for example, by the user. In yet another embodiment, the scanning device scans and stores the entire receipt as a single image. Through recognition of unique identifier symbols, the dataform pattern is identified as one component of the scanned image and is decoded and processed as described above. The scanned image is retained as a discrete file and is marked with an indexing identifier relating it to the characterized transaction data that was decoded from the dataform.
In a third aspect of the invention, an improved method of encoding transaction data in the form of a dataform provided with a purchase receipt is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the method comprises: entering transaction data including the time/date and value of the transaction into one or more specified data fields adapted for such data; categorizing the transaction data according to at least one predetermined classification; encoding the transaction data at the point of sale into one or more dataform patterns; and printing the dataform pattern onto a receipt, whereby the dataform is adapted to be scanned and read by a scanning device. In the case of a credit card transaction or if the vendor employs a check verification system, additional transaction data related to these functions is optionally entered and encoded on the receipt, either by manual entry, or via electronic data transfer.
In a fourth aspect of the invention, an improved method of communicating transaction data in the form of a dataform using a purchase receipt is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the method comprises: entering and categorizing the transaction data, using an algorithm executed by a processor equipped device to encode the transaction data at the point of sale into a dataform pattern; printing the dataform pattern onto a receipt; reading the dataform pattern on the receipt with a scanning device; decoding the dataform pattern to derive the encoded and categorized transaction data; and mapping the decoded transaction data to a computer database. The information in the database is made available for use by entities or processes such as software applications. In a second embodiment, annotations made by the user directly on the receipt are scanned and decoded by the scanning device along with the dataform(s). Optical character recognition (OCR) or similar software is utilized to recognize and decode the user""s annotations. The decoded annotations are then converted to text and subsequently stored within the database.
In a fifth aspect of the invention, an improved scanning device useful for scanning transaction dataforms is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the scanning device generally comprises a light source, light signal detection device, microprocessor, storage device(s) such as a random access memory (RAM) and/or read-only memory (ROM), analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a digital signal processor (DSP). A series of feed/drive rollers control the propagation of the receipt with dataform through the scanning device and past the light source and detection device. The light reflected from the dataform comprises a signal which is passed through an aperture and detected by the detection device, which generates an output signal to a signal amplifier which is in turn connected to the ADC. The scanning device is further connected to a data processing device which allows further processing of the detected light signal.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become better understood from a detailed description of the preferred embodiment which is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.